10 remote places few travellers have ever seen

There are certain bragging rights that come with being the first of your friends to visit a remote destination, but it can be hard to find truly off-the-radar spots these days. That's where we come in. We've rounded up some of the most isolated, least crowded places around the world for the adventurous traveller, from Australia to the Arctic. So if you want to feel more like an explorer than a tourist, consider planning a trip to one of these, whether it's a secret island or an underrated American National Park.

In the far northern reaches of Canada, Nunavut is as sparsely populated as it is surreal. Roughly the size of California, Texas, Montana, Colorado and Nebraska combined, the wild territory has a population of just over 38,000 (and so few cars, it only got its first traffic light in 2010). One of its greatest sites is Baffin Island, filled with stark fjords, crystalline lakes, polar bears and narwhals.

How to visit: Travel specialist Marc Télio at Entrée Destinations arranges bespoke trips through the Canadian Arctic, and can organise stays at the Arctic Watch Lodge in Nunavut. From about £8,600

Macquarie Island is no more than a speck of land in the Southern Pacific Ocean, taking up about 50 square miles between New Zealand and Antarctica. Despite its size, Macquarie is home to a million royal penguins and is the only place in the world where rocks from the earth's mantle are exposed above sea level – the latter earned the island a spot on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1997. But seriously... a million penguins.

How to visit: Macquarie is administered by the state of Tasmania, and it's a frequent stop on Antarctic cruises starting from Australia and Asia.

Caves don't always have to be dark and dingy. Case in point: The marble caves bordering General Carrera Lake, a glacial lake on the Chile-Argentina border. The swirling marble walls, formed by 6,000 years of crashing waves eroding the stone, are as vibrant and lovely as the surrounding azure water.

How to visit: Travel specialist Brian Pearson at Upscape can help arrange trips to Patagonia's Aysén Region, where you can kayak around the caves and sleep near the edge of the lake.

Located on the eastern coast of Greenland, the small town of Ittoqqortoormiit might be one of the most remote inhabited areas of Greenland – as if the island wasn’t remote enough in and of itself. When the weather isn't too unbearably cold, the town's population of 450 is known to embark on dog-sledding treks, as well as offer camping trips for visitors. If you do happen to reach Ittoqqortoormiit, you may also be rewarded with views of the Northern Lights during the winter months.

This ‘drowned island’ (it’s barely above sea level) is rimmed with empty, beautiful beaches – in fact, you'd have to look hard to find a stretch of sand with another visitor. Anegada claims a population of roughly 285, and extensive coastal reefs have made it more difficult to reach than the other British Virgin Islands, giving the island an irresistible castaway allure. If you do make it here, the coral reefs are excellent for snorkelling, particularly off the beach at Loblolly Bay on the northeast coast (the isle was miraculously spared from the 2017 hurricanes).

How to visit: Launched in 2018, the Anegada Express Ferry offers rides from both Tortola and Virgin Gorda four days a week. The ride takes roughly an hour each way and costs about £30 for a round-trip.

The southern Australian town of Coober Pedy has about 1,800 residents – 80 per cent of which live in underground dwellings. It's a tough place to visit, let alone live, because of the lack of trees and summer temperatures that rise well into the 40s. Its eerie, post-apocalyptic vibe was immortalised in 1985 by director George Miller, who shot part of Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome here.

How to visit: Coober Pedy is located on the Stuart Highway, which you can reach via a full day's drive from Adelaide (about 518 miles), the Ghan Rail service or the Greyhound-Pioneer bus service. (Yes, there are underground hotels once you arrive.)

Deception Island is a remote destination in Antarctica's freezing South Shetland Islands, famous for its deserted whaling and research station. It was abandoned many times between 1931 and 1969 due to volcanic eruptions, leaving behind the beached boats and rusting boilers that can be seen today. You'll have to take an Antarctic cruise to experience the ghostly beautiful site for yourself – if you're lucky, you might even spot some chinstrap penguins and get to soak in a natural hot tub.

How to visit: Book a cruise with Readers' Choice Award-winning Lindblad Expeditions to explore the deserted site for yourself.

Located between mainland Norway and the North Pole, Svalbard is one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas. Travel to the archipelago in the winter to see the Northern Lights, or during the summer for the elusive ‘midnight sun’ (the sun doesn't set at all between 20 April and 22 August). Regardless of the season, a visit here lets you share the habitat of some of nature's most exciting animals, such as polar bears, walruses and narwhals.

How to visit: Norwegian offers three weekly direct flights from Oslo to Longyearbyen (the largest settlement on the island), while SAS offers daily flights from Tromsø.

Gates of the Arctic is the second-largest and northernmost National Park in the US, located completely above the Arctic Circle. It only received 9,591 visitors in 2018 (compared to the Grand Canyon's 6.3 million), but those self-sufficient travellers were lucky enough to take in some of the country’s most pristine mountain views, scenic rivers and diverse wildlife, including wolverines, polar bears and caribou. If you’d like to contribute to those visitor numbers, stick to travelling in spring and summer months, as temperatures linger around -30ºC to -45ºC from November to March.

How to visit: There are no motorways leading to the park, so some visitors take the Dalton Highway to Wiseman and then hike the remaining five miles to the entrance. Another option is to take a chartered flight from Fairbanks to Anaktuvuk Pass, Bettles or Coldfoot.

The aptly named Door to Hell is a 230-foot-wide crater in the middle of the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan that simply won't stop burning. When Soviet scientists began searching for oil here back in 1971, they accidentally hit a methane reserve and the drilling platform collapsed, forming the crater and releasing dangerous gas into the air. They decided to light the crater to burn off the methane, creating a Dante-esque anomaly that has remained lit for the past 40-plus years. Recently, the crater has become more of a visitor attraction, but it's still primarily a destination for adventurers.

How to visit: The Door to Hell has no roads, no protective boundaries, no buildings – it's literally just a burning hole in the middle of the desert. You can always try to visit on your own with an off-road vehicle, but your best bet is to book a guided tour with a recognised operator such as Advantour (from around £330).